Then there are plantings of Sparaxis and Streptanthera, which 

 will insist on crossing however far apart one plants them ; 

 and here we have been lucky enough to get a wonderful break. 

 Some time back a neighbour was given a bulb said to be a 

 black Sparaxis. Through many years of growing we have heard 

 stories of marvellous bulbs, from blue chinks to yellow 7 

 Amaryllis, and so we have grown sceptical. We planted them 

 without enthusiasm and awaited results. The description 

 proved to be true ! The flowers really were black, or as near 

 as may be, and of a beautiful velvety texture quite foreign to 

 Sparaxis tricolor. Some have gold dots or a gold lacing in the 

 centre, reminding one of Auricula. Some are just plain black. 

 Of course, anyone who sees them wants to buy them, but we 

 are carefully working up the stock. Not all the seedlings come 

 true, but the numbers are steadily increasing. 



The gay little Hesperantha Buhrii opens its pink buds at 4 

 o'clock and becomes a gleaming white star all through the 

 night, while H. Aletelerkampiae and H. Stanfordiae have large 

 butter-yellow blooms on short stems ; and I must allow 

 that the former should have first place, for its chocolate blotches 

 on the three outside segments are a great addition to its beauty. 

 But they are all lovely. 



There is a long bed of kalkoentjies (Gladiolus alatus] in full 

 bloom. Their scent of summer apples is quite unique, and so 

 is their colour of terra-cotta red with the lip banded with 

 bright green. I seem to have acquired a very large-flowered 

 strain, and I see some of them are playing tricks with their 

 colouring, showing green where they should be red and vice 

 versa. I think they may have crossed with Gladiolus Water- 

 meyeri ; there is the same showing of pencil stripes in the 

 flowers and the long narrow lip of that species. 



The planting of Gladiolus tristis is at its best in the evening, 

 when the pale flowers show to advantage and the scent is 

 almost overpowering with its soft sweetness. The species 

 seems to have been grown for more than a century in many 

 corners of the world and is quite the best known of our 

 Gladiolus species. It is also the easiest to hybridize ; it makes 

 crosses spontaneously with G. alatus and G. grandis, but I have 



